“When the parents are empowered, their children are empowered and they will go on to help others. Everything we do, we do with love and patience. We must talk about the Dreamers, about how hard they are working for their education.” Roxana Montano’s smile is audible as the Former Parents Committee President lists off the core principles that steer the group.

Before there was an official Committee, the parents acted as the Dream Project’s engine. Waking up at 4 a.m. to cook Bolivian silpancho to sell for fundraisers and packaging promotional mailings — the parents took on the challenge of kickstarting the scholarship fundraising initiative while raising families, working, and facing barriers to their resources and mobility.

Hareth, an alumna, recalls how, in the era of the 2010 DREAM Act’s failure and the Virginia Attorney General’s directive that universities deny admission to undocumented students, contributing to the Dream Project restored a sense of agency for her parents. It created the chance for them to support her college dreams when legislative obstacles made them feel otherwise powerless.

When the Dream Project first drafted its bylaws in 2010, the parents formed an independent committee to prevent potential conflicts of interest with awarding scholarships to their children. The Committee then went on to achieve substantial growth in its activities, focused on fundraising and outreach. Today, the Committee raises $24,500 annually, contributing two named scholarships each year.

Executive Director Karen Vallejos emphasizes the value of the parents’ outreach, in connecting their peers to the organization and reporting on immigrant students’ experiences in Virginia’s school districts. Peer support and resource-sharing among Committee members grew into an annual Parents Summit, a series of workshops about advocating for and supporting their children’s education and well-being.

When the organization was first formed, Founder Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez encouraged the founding students to lean on one another. As the parents worked together to grow the organization, a similar support network emerged organically. They simply enjoyed being together — the solidarity is so valuable that other parents, including those whose students did not receive scholarships, continued to attend meetings and contribute. Committee members celebrate the successes of other students as they would their own children. Each year at the Dream Project’s Scholarship Award Ceremony, parents watch not only their children as they flourish, but the organization they so lovingly played a part in growing.

Special thanks to the parents who co-founded the Dream Project — Roxana Montano, Gilda Vallejos de Corrales, Betty Andrade, Lupe Cosio, Henry Mejia, Ingrid Mejia — and all the parents who have given their time and effort to the Parents Committee.